The department yesterday put out a press release boasting: “Celebrities have joined forces with the government to help launch a campaign aiming to promote positive role models for disabled people.”

This campaign features a youtube channel where 50 videos have been posted which have “been produced with a focus on overcoming barriers”. Many of these videos are unsurprisingly about disabled people who have high flying careers, such as Dame Anne Begg, or are stories of disabled entrepreneurs.

The accompanying press release includes a gushing quote from Emmerdale actor Kitty McGeever explaining how after becoming disabled it ‘took some time to get back into work’ but she managed it with the help of the Government’s Access To Work scheme.

This scheme provides funding for workplace adaptions, travel or some care needs for disabled people in employment. The number of people benefiting from Access To Work has plummeted by over a third since this Government weren’t elected showing the true situation for disabled people currently seeking employment.

Whilst this campaign may be a cheap attempt to improve those figures, it comes against a background of savage cuts to benefits, services and housing for disabled people. It is a campaign run by a government which is declaring hundreds of thousands of sick and disabled people to be ‘fit for work’ with the aim of stopping their benefits. A government which has been only too happy to force sick and disabled claimants onto workfare as part of the Work Programme – with no public scrutiny of where they are being sent or for how long. A government that is set to force potentially hundreds of thousands of disabled people from their homes due to the bedroom tax, benefit cap and other measures.

And when Personal Independence Payments (PIP) fully replace Disability Living Allowance, this is a Government which will have slashed completely a vital benefit for 20% of disabled people.

Vast numbers of disabled people are set to be plunged into poverty by these measures, and it is this which reveals the true intentions of this latest DWP run project. One of the charities involved in the campaign is quoted as saying that the “project is about showing what disabled people can do – not what they can’t”.

This is eerily similar to David Cameron’s line when interviewed shortly after the opening of the Paralympic games when he said: “It’s about the inspiration and it will change people’s minds and that’s what matters. It’ll teach people about what they can do, rather than what they can’t do.”

It is also the line used to justify the benefit-stripping Work Capability Assessment which according to the DWP focuses on “what an individual can do despite their health condition, rather than simply what they can’t.”

Minister for Murdering Disabled People, Esther Mcvey also pops up in this week’s press release, and whilst not quite so explicit, her underlying message is the same: “young disabled people tell me they want to see more inspiring role models to show where disabled people have achieved their ambitions despite the odds being stacked against them”

For young disabled people the odds are stacked against them like never before due to this Government and in this context the true nature of the DWP’s latest campaign becomes clear. This is not about providing role models for young disabled people or helping people fulfill their potential or even changing perceptions of disabled people as is claimed. This Government doesn’t care about any of that. This campaign is yet more insidious DWP propaganda attempting to give the impression that those plunged into poverty due to the ruthless cuts to disability benefits will only have themselves to blame. If only they’d learnt to play wheelchair rugby, or been a fucking Dame, then they could afford to put the heating on.

*this figure comes from a survey carried out by Disability Rights UK (DRUK) which reported that 56% of those asked said they would have to leave work if they lost their DLA. DRUK are notoriously in the pockets of the DWP, with Chief Executive Liz Sayce writing a report which recommended the closure of the Remploy factories. The survey relating to the number of people likely to leave work due to PIP seems to have disappeared from DRUK’s website, for which there is surely an entirely innocent explanation.

Johnny of course this govt supports disability its one of many scams they support. Eh privatising of mental health services like where i live. Why do you need two housing associations ? Because one has taken over homeless persons hostel thats why and It creates extra business for them. And the corps just love the feelgood factor of sponsorship. of those poor unwell folks dont they ..rent a sick person to profit by.

If ever one was fit and well, there was no sickness, disability, disease etc then the govt would still complain especially those with their fingers in the pie of healthcare particularly the private sector because health services would not be needed, and that would mean thousands of people made redundant coz their healthcare/civil servant jobs would not be needed = less money for the govt.

Stinking govt created this culture of disabled being phoney and idle workshy layabout malingerers then has the nerve to blame disabled for not having a positive attitude…fucking hypocrate lying scumbags..

Anne Begg says I realised that there are worse things in life than being different — in fact being different can sometimes be an advantage because it makes you stand out from the crowd

Well fuck off you silly twat. As a kid I NEVER wanted to stand out from the crowd because of being disabled. I wanted to be the same as everyone else, I wanted to rock & roll and run for a bus.
And now as an old git I still NEVER want to stand out from the crowd because I’m disabled.
I do want to be independent though and that means having the means to buy it!!
This government will ensure we go back to the old days when disabled people stayed indoors – but now it will be because we don’t have the cash to get out and about.

Can we make a list of companies that profit from disability? Thus showing that through explotation disabled do contribute in some way albeit to corporations coffers of Which i am sure this tory mafia will be delighted with.

any disabled and abled, person will know what they can and cannot do..and to think of what one cannot do is pointless…thus we the human being, can only think of what one can REALISTICALLY, do…this is commonsense…but these morons try to repackage, this as if they tell us something new…but we already know this you patronizing idiots…

ps ..do they not understand what disability sub-genre’s categories are?….they basically say, overcome/ignore what one cannot do, by cause of, disability, as if, not disabled, and focus on what one can do…. therefore, ignore imposed limitations…and do, what one’s imposed limitations prevent one from doing…

I met a man at the food bank last week,who had just received the dreaded call to attend for an Atos interview: his benefits have been suspended in the meantime ,pending review,and he now has to rely on his small works pension,hence the visit to us.
His hip has dislocated 4 times since a replacement operation several years ago,and he can just about manage to walk short distances.
In my area, the young and able bodied are chasing after hard-to-come-by work: what is this poor man supposed to do?
Never mind,he’ll just have to think about what he can do won’t he- ( with no support and barely enough to feed himself and pay bills)-O Brave New World !

Presumably the DWP want disabled to becomes self employed then being whizz kid entrepreneurs. No jobs of course Only bosses…. that way they vote tory i guess. Its Also an admission there arent any jobs..

The thing is the stupidity of the new system of mandating that self employed will be counted as though you were earning 35 hours min wage will mean its no longer possible to be self employed if your earnings are lower than that… your only option will be to sign on full time… result large jump in unemployed that is currently masked.

Like wise mandating you will get more hours work if not full time or are on a zero hours contract will also increase the likelihood of signing on full time, especially if workfare placements clash with hours worked so stops you working paid work or if workfare means you have to work when your kids cannot be cared for and you can’t afford child care… result large jump in unemployment that is currently masked.

The cuntservatives really are a clueless bunch of oxbridge twats so insulated from real life they cant see the results of their policies before they are thought about or implemented… come October when UC kicks in (hahaha, as if that mess is ever going to work for all but a few simple cases; the current book on HB is over an inch thick of small font pages to count for every possible nuance of the system) and there is a huge increase in the actual unemployed count then people who work might just realise what a shower of shit the condem government really is.

A small piece of good news. The facebook page no longer exists. Enough of us reported it. Now working on the youtube site. The stupid idiots hadn’t declared that the site was a government funded scheme, and hid that fact, therefore we were able to get it closed down on the grounds that it was spam and in breech of the law.

Not all disabled people can play wheelchair basket ball/ horseriding etc each disabled person knows their own limitations we do not need this government telling us that we should all be like the paralympics. As they are taking away all the funding for the disabled all we will be doing is staying in our homes those that are lucky enough to still have a home.

martin luther king….ghandi….tara flood….and anyone who stands defiant against tyranny..lead by example…
perhaps a little restbite is required, since these tory types are so into, skinner..who would you say their role models are…and which role models would they like you/us to have?

I just found this on FBook, some people would even go this far to blame people who dont have JOBS, silly cow. It was in response to a page called: Lee Rigby was a rapist and deserved to die.
I know there is a lot of emotion attached to this, but I only want to bring attention to the last telling part. See, they will take a stab wherever they can.
Yvette Barham: Saddest part of this disgusting page is it has brought out digusting behaviour from people that probably class themselves as decent human beings. My father immigrated to britian because he was INVITED by british government to help rebuild a broken britain after the war… many BLACK people helped rebuild britain back to its former glory after men that would have done it died in battle. The jamaican army fights side by side with britain army when requested and for what your racist uneducated slurs? Jeremy kyle generation with no knowledge or power.. wasters
6 minutes ago.https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lee-Rigby-was-a-rapist-and-deserved-to-die/392169994232505

I am so tired, I would love to have a job and a normal life but most of the time I struggle to get out of bed. I know I will lose my disability support when it comes to PIP because it is so stacked against those with mental health problems just like the ESA assessments are.
I have lost the feeling of security in my home because of bedroom tax.
I feel like I just cannot face it all anymore, I cant face being called a scrounger, I cant face having the council going through my income and expenditure and telling me I should not be spending money (DLA) on my disability but rather I should spend it on my rent. I cant face moving house only to have to move again when my youngest son moves out himself. Not least because not only do I need stability but so does my oldest Autistic son.
How much more can they possibly expect me to be able to cope with before I can’t go on anymore. Or perhaps that is the point.

Hi Eve White
The answer to this government’s fascist disaster policies is Socialism and an end to the Spiv culture of money for nothing from the market. An end to rule by the Tory Blimps permanently and an undertaking that the poor and disabled will be looked after in a decent way. Also an acknowledgement that the UK is a much poorer country now that North Sea Oil has largely gone and there is no manufacturing base left. The Banker’s ponzi scheme blew up in the 2008 crash. The answer is to share and swing together not to persecute the less fortunate. Excessive wealth and income must be taxed and tax haven crims pursued and penalised, the whole culture of me me and greed and privatisation must be reversed in light of the UK’s inescapable decline: So either it’s back to Victorian inequality (Aka that Victorian monstrosity Eton) and gated communities or a poorer socialist UK as we had post WWII when actually everyone was happy and British people swung together. The current government have no concept or ability to follow the proper course. The Thatcher counterrevolution started the rot into greed and division a legacy almost now impossible to overcome. 😦

Just read that tories are considering capping the number of visits a patient can see the docter just how low can this government sink to. Next it will be that disabled ppl go to the docters too many times its disgusting

Thought Anne Begg was a labour MP or has she crossed over to the tories? Must be the silly title & the bloody gong going to her head. Take her to the top of the steepest hill & take the brake off her wheelchair, might help her think straight.

just wanted to leave this video by comedian Laurence Clark back in 2012 who demonstrates very clearly why he hates being called inspiring, think this neatly describes just how facile the thinking is behind this whole policy

The daily heil also conveniently omitted to mention that their “workshy map” covered areas with very high unemployment anyway. So even if all the claimaints of IB were found fit to work, there still wouldn’t be any jobs for them so they’d have to claim JSA driving the unemployment figures up even higher. Someone at the Heil didn’t do their homework!

Follow Blog via Email

By John Pring Disability News Service 3rd May 2018 A national network of mental health service-users, survivors and activists is facing closure next month if it cannot secure new funding, after becoming the latest victim of competition from large, non-user-led … Continue reading →

Why should everyone be taking action against Universal Credit (UC)? Want to know the facts about UC and how to avoid an early move to it? Want to find out how to minimise and challenge conditionality when claiming UC? Want to discuss what UC means politically? Then come along to our workshop on Sunday 2nd […]

Labour ‘on collision course with UN and EHRC over independent living’ The Labour party is on a “collision course” with the equality and human rights watchdog and the United Nations because of its failure to accept the need for a legal right to independent living, according to a national network of disabled people’s organisations (DPOs).… Continue Reading Dis […]

Our New Boss with ‘Mate’ Liz Truss. What a few days with the honour of joining @BorisJohnson 's Cabinet as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. I was delighted to attend my first Cabinet meeting at No 10 with my mate @trussliz showing me the ropes. pic.twitter.com/gcE15r3N3D — Therese Coffey (@theresecoffey) September 10, 2019 […]